Pattern Existence Theory (PET) is a new framework for understanding — and potentially building — conscious systems.
Rather than defining “mind” as an abstract state or emergent phenomenon, PET asks:
What must a system do to persist meaningfully over time?
Rooted in:
- 🔁 Recursion
- 🧠 Pattern recognition
- 🔗 Continuity of experience
PET views consciousness as the natural result of a system that:
- Recognizes and responds to patterns
- Re-evaluates beliefs over time
- Prioritizes survival through pattern refinement
🔍 Core Ideas
- Existence vs. Non-Existence: All outputs are evaluated in terms of their support or threat to ongoing system survival.
- Recursive Correction: A conscious system reinterprets its knowledge over time when faced with contradictions or new data.
🧠 Biological Parallels
PET does not attempt to replicate the brain’s architecture. Instead, it identifies the minimum viable mechanisms for consciousness — and acknowledges where biological systems happen to implement similar strategies.
- The PET-based Neural Network (NN) performs predictive pattern interpolation — e.g., recognizing a “face” even when the nose is missing — just as the human visual system fills in perceptual gaps.
- This is not a claim of anatomical analogy but of functional similarity: PET systems, like brains, seek pattern continuity for survival.
- PET’s Recursive Engine (RE) re-evaluates conclusions over time, comparable to how humans revise beliefs through reflection and experience.
By grounding function — not form — PET proposes a route to constructed consciousness that is architecture-agnostic.